About Lincolnville Boat Club

We are a group of Lincolnville residents who have formed the Lincolnville Boat Club (LBC) as a non-profit, public benefit corporation dedicated to offering sailing and seamanship instruction and programs to our community. All of our courses are focused on educating individuals to the joys of sailing.

We teach several levels of instruction during the summer, from youth to adult. Our primary location is at Norton Pond in the center of Lincolnville where we sail Vanguard 420 dinghies. The warm and calm waters make this a perfect location to learn to sail and our boats have most all the equipment of larger ocean sailing boats which allows students to learn and build up their confidence. We also have a keel boat moored at the ferry terminal at Lincolnville beach where students can graduate to ocean sailing.

The club is incorporated by the State of Maine as a not for profit corporation and approved by the IRS as a 501c3 public benefit organization for purposes of receiving tax deductible contributions.

The LBC was established in 2006 by several community members. In short order a charter was established and funds acquired to purchase seven Vanguard 420’s from Boston and the club was off the ground.

Our first season in 2007 was an adventure! Our first class had three students, two of whom were sisters, and all from out of state. With two youth and one adult instructor classes were held all summer to these small, individualized classes. The evening Adult and Women’s classes were a hit with almost full enrollment. The 420’s were tired old boats, but with some TLC they performed well. We pressed Andy Oliver for a chase boat and got a fast ski boat – it was fun.

In the 2008 season we purchased a Boston Whaler at the YMCA auction, and a second one was borrowed from Paul Lippman – no more horse power. More kids signed up. We cooperated with Jim Dunham at Tanglewood to instruct a group of their summer camp kids for a week, and we’ve continued this every year since.

By 2009 we had traded several of our 420’s for newer ones (90’s vintage vs. 80’s). This summer was notorious for its soggy July weather. Despite that we had a record turnout. Instead of ending the season in August, we paired up with the STAR Program to offer sailing lessons through October (brrr) one afternoon a week to kids from the five surrounding towns. The weather was perfect and the kids got a good introduction to sailing.

The following are general guidelines for the programs run by the Lincolnville Boat Club.

RAIN DAYS

It’s not much fun to sail in the rain … we know that. On the other hand, we have an obligation to hold the classes which you paid for.

Youth Day Programs:

We go sailing anyway! This is always your first option (so long as there is no lightning). Rain is a downer but it’s not going to melt us, so out to the lake we go. Understanding that nobody wants to be cold and wet for hours you can expect a longer than usual “instruction” time under the band stand before and after sailing. As an aside, frequently the lake water is warmer and you’ll find the kids swimming to warm up.

There is lots to learn about sailing that can be taught off the water. These include learning to tie knots, determining who has the rights of way on the water, reading maps, interpreting the wind, communications between crew, racing techniques, etc. We purposefully put this off for rainy days.

Although we love our band stand it’s not that warm and is only mostly dry. So on occasion we will venture over to the Lincolnville Central School where we have access to the gym. This is, without a doubt, a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon. They have all the best PE equipment you could want! The kids always come away warmed up and physically exhausted. This is our best alternative to sailing day after day in the rain. If we go this route we are always back to the band stand by the end of class. Our other alternative is to hike up to Drakes Corner Store for a hot treat and warm up.

Parents certainly have the prerogative to keep their kids home for a day–we’ll understand.

Adult Evening Classes:

As for the adult programs, we recognize that you are out to enjoy sailing and doing it in the rain may not be enjoyable. As such, we’ll understand if you don’t want to come out for a lesson in the rain. There are also occasions when extremely poor or inhospitable weather prohibits us from sailing and we cancel the night’s lesson. If that is the case you will get a phone call from us at least 2 hours before class.

On the first day of classes we will pick a single make-up day should any of the classes be canceled. If more than one class is canceled we will not be making it up.

AGE

Our day long programs are intended for youth ages 10–15. In the past we have been flexible on this, so long as the parents are aware of two points. First, the boats we sail are easier to operate if a student has the size, strength, and agility of your average 10 y.o. Second, the student needs to be able to listen, interpret, and perform instructions as they are given. We have had participants as young as 8 who did fine and kids as old as 12 who did not.

We are open to letting the parents take on some of this decision making process (and responsibility), since they know their child best. However, we reserve the right to make adjustments for the safety and overall wellbeing of the class. Students who are not well suited for our day long programs will be given the opportunity to move into an afternoon program or will be offered a refund.